Tom Murray is determined to give dorm food a good name.
Working with EMU's Office of Nutritional Services (ONS),
Eastern Michigan University's executive chef has traded
fried for fresh in EMU's dining halls and managed to cut
waste and add customers in the process — this
on a campus that Men's Fitness magazine ranked among the
nation's least fit in 2005.
"Whenever they say, 'Chef, can you do it?' I'm doing it
and asking for forgiveness later," said Murray, who came
to EMU in 2006 after 22 years in the hotel industry.
 |
GOING GREEN: This fresh salad, offered
at Sbarro
in the Student Center, is just one healthy
offering
of many made to improve eating habits
on campus.
Since coming to EMU in 2006, Executive
Chef Tom
Murray has worked to improve the kinds
and types
of foods offered at EMU's 20 campus eating
venues.
|
Murray saw opportunities to feed EMU better in all 20
of the campus venues he oversees. But, he was prepared
for backlash when he pulled the plug on French fries, the
most popular item in Dining Commons (DC) One, the campus's
busiest cafeteria. Fried chicken got the boot, too, as
did lots of pre-packaged foods. Rather than buying meatloaf
and Salisbury steak, the kitchens started making their
own. No more mystery meat.
Despite a drop in the number of students living in residence
halls — and, therefore, eating on meal plans — DC
One alone picked up some 15,000 customers from 2006-07
to 2007-08.
"For the most part, I think the students, as well as the
faculty, really liked the idea of healthier options on
campus," said Kara Karalis, one of five dietetics students
who conducted their food-systems rotation with Murray during
the winter semester. "The next major part I think the campus
has to work on is advertisement of that healthier food.
I heard from the managers that students were still complaining
that there weren't any healthy options. If the students
don't know that it's there, they won't take advantage of
it."
Karalis, who graduated in May with a degree in dietetics,
was part of a new collaboration between dining services
and nutrition services. The Office of Nutrition Services,
which is open Monday-Thursday during the fall and winter
semesters, and on Tuesdays through spring and summer, offers
nutritional counseling and body composition analysis to
students for $5 a visit and to faculty, staff and the community
for $10. The office, staffed by dietetics students as part
of their supervised practice hours, also provides nutrition
expertise to the campus and community.
Students from ONS worked with Murray and his staff, each
addressing specific nutrition-oriented problems — gluten-free
offerings, trans-fat free offerings and how to realistically
eat healthy at each of EMU's food service venues. He challenged
them to not only come up with solutions, but also market
them to the campus community.
 |
GOOD AND GRILLED: This grilled chicken
plate with fresh fruit is one of a number of
healthy
offerings provided by EMU's Dining
Services. Unless one stops at KFC, fried
chicken is now a thing of the past on
campus. |
"A lot of times, in food service, the bottom line
is the mighty dollar and what sells," said Lydia Kret,
dietetics and human nutrition program director. "We
know kids love French fries and pizza, but these students
have seen that you can make changes. You can collaborate
with food service as a dietician and have healthy choices
available, and people will accept them."
Murray's brought his fresh approach to any campus food
outlet that's not a franchise — and some that are. He convinced
the Sbarro in the Student Center to add a salad bar, which
last school year sold about 8,200 salads.
"He's got a lot of energy, and he walks the talk,
too," said Diane Reynolds, dietetics clinical coordinator. "He
lives and eats healthfully and, generally, people who live
and eat healthfully have a lot more energy in their day,
and that shows. You have to keep moving to keep up with
him."
Meanwhile, EMU students go through 30 cases of fresh fruit
a day at a single station in DC ONE. The fruit bar features
eight different fruits every day, along with granola and
two different kinds of yogurt. Last year's grocery list
included 300 cases of romaine lettuce, $7,000 worth of
grapefruit and $9,000 worth of orange sections.
Fresh produce is more expensive than junk food, but the kitchens save money
by making their own meatloaf and macaroni and cheese. And because fresh food
is made-to-order, less gets wasted.
"To me, I think all the numbers are washed away by coverage," Murray
said. "The more guests you have, the more it covers costs."
Next year, Murray plans to take aim at not only fresh
ingredients, but food served fresh from the kitchen. He
plans to put individual servings on platters, five or six
servings to a tray, rather than serve them out of pans
that hold 30-40 servings.
"It's more pressure on the waiters and cooks to keep up
with it, but it's fresher food for the students, rather
than a pan of lasagna that's been sitting there for three
hours."
